Stupebit et Natura -- Remissionis
by starbuckmeggie
Summary: Donna and CJ catch up after the events of Requiem. Companion piece to Stupebit et Natura - Dum Spiramus


"I really, really appreciate this, CJ," I tell her as we each grab ends of the quilt, shaking it out and spreading it out over the guest bed.

"So you've said," she answers, her tone teasing. "But can you tell me if you're appreciative? I mean, I'm really going out of my way here, letting you help clean out this room and make the bed so you can sleep on it."

"I just really—"

"Appreciate it," she finishes, grinning at me. "I'm happy to have the company."

CJ wasn't kidding when she said there was a lot of crap in her guest room. The upside is that most of it was in boxes and cartons and easily stacked against the walls. The compulsively neat part of me is actually twitching right now and I fight to tame the impulse to actually organize the place. It would certainly give me something to do in my down time.

Of course, I'm hoping that I won't really have too much time to myself and that I'll at least be part of the transition team. But I'm not going to let myself worry about that tonight.

"So, what do you say?" CJ asks, standing back to admire our handiwork. "You ready to crash or can I interest you in a glass or two of wine?"

"You said glass, but I'm pretty sure you meant bottle."

She chuckles and links her arm through mine, pulling me back out to the living room. "This is why I like you, Donna—we operate on the same level. You can translate what I say into what I mean."

"Just another service I offer." Truthfully, getting wine drunk sounds awesome right about now. The past four days—never mind the last few months on the campaign trail—have been mostly brutal, and being able to lose myself in wine and friendship sounds like the balm I need for my soul.

I try to help CJ with the wine but she just shoos me to the living room and I settle in on the couch. We changed out of our formal mourning attire when we got in, so I just let my gaze wander around the place. It's been forever since I was last here but not much has changed. Other than that whole secret service detail thing and the extra security features that go along with it. I don't know how she handles it. I can't imagine how Josh is going to handle it.

I sigh, my head falling back against the couch. There he is again. I don't want to think about him tonight, stupid as that is. All I've been able to think about for hours is me turning down his offer to stay with him and Amy Gardner trying to set him up on a date. Not that she would know that he's kind of involved with me. Except she sort of should know that. For years, she's the one who's been asking Josh if he's dating me or if I'm in love with him. Why wouldn't it occur to her that, now that both Josh and I are on a considerably more even playing field, we might be seeing each other?

Only, we're not really seeing each other, are we? Technically, yes—we're seeing each other naked but having sex isn't exactly dating, or even a substantial relationship, nor is it grounds for me to lay claim on him, or demand that he not go out with Sarah. I suppose I've staked my claim on him in the past with less, though.

Part of me can't help but feel incredibly stupid for turning him down. It's been such a long time since I had sex, and I've wanted Josh for even longer…the worlds have collided and I'm now able to have sex with Josh and I'm turning it down. I must be insane. Hell, he all but offered to let me stay with him while I'm essentially homeless…sort of. I suppose I'm not really clear on that point. He invited me over for tonight definitely, and seemed moderately insulted that I didn't ask him if I could stay with him instead of bunking at CJ's, but I don't know that he was thinking beyond sex at that moment. I need an actual place to stay for a while, somewhere I can literally hang up my clothes and cook dinner and read and do all the regular things a person does when they live somewhere. I'm fairly certain his mind was just on sex, not on the day-to-day life thing, and I definitely can't kid myself into thinking we're anywhere near a point where I can just casually stay with him. We haven't even moderately discussed what we're doing with each other. I wasn't even entirely sure if we'd extend beyond election day until earlier tonight.

I suppose turning him down gave me the upper hand in that I now know he wants more from me than a few stolen moments in a hotel room in Texas, though how much more remains to be seen. However, he now has this woman he can call for…whatever, and I guess that means any upper hand I had in a power play I didn't really want to participate in is lost.

"Did I lose you?"

Startled, my eyes fly open at the sound of CJ's voice, but I try to smile at her. "No. Sorry. Just…lost in thought. Too much has happened lately, you know?"

She hands me a glass of wine before settling on the opposite end of the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table. She holds her glass out to me, and I clink mine against it carefully. I bring the wine to my lips and take a small sip. CJ downs half of hers in one gulp. I chuckle and she just gives me a look. "Don't get shy on me now, Donnatella. I know you can put away as much as I can and I intend to be nice and buzzed in short order. Drink up."

"Well, I was just thinking about you," I tell her after taking a larger sip. "I don't want you running back and forth to the fridge all night."

"First of all, if you think I'm playing wine wench all evening, you've got another think coming, Blondie. Second of all…" She reaches down beside the couch and picks up a bottle of wine by the neck, wrapped in what looks like a flotation device. "This isn't my first rodeo, sister. You think I like stumbling back and forth all night to refill my wine glass? This sucker keeps it cold for hours."

"You're a genius," I tell her holding out my glass to clink against hers again, but she tops it off instead.

"Necessity is the mother of invention and all that." I pause, waiting for her to continue. "Not that I invented that. But some other lost soul understood that wine glasses don't hold enough, getting up to constantly refill gets worse as the night goes on, and drinking straight out of the bottle isn't entirely socially acceptable past your college years."

"What about when you're on your own?" I ask, taking another healthy sip, the wine warming pleasantly in my stomach.

"That's usually the 'Danger, Will Robinson' sign, wouldn't you say?"

I laugh again, swirling my wine around a bit. "You're probably right."

"So, what's been going on, kiddo? I've hardly seen you in months."

"C'mon, CJ, you know what's been going on—the entire country knows what's been going on. I've been living, breathing, and eating the election."

"You did a helluva job, too. Spokesperson really suits you. We should have brought you on as Press Secretary."

"Right," I snicker.

She shrugs, taking a casual sip of her wine. "There's still time. We could probably use you the next few months."

"You don't have to throw me a bone, CJ. I'm sure I'll be helping with the transition."

"Hey, I'm not just being nice. The camera loves you, you're good with people. If you want it, let me know."

"Thanks, Ceej. I appreciate it." I force myself to sound blasé about it, but I feel an immense amount of relief. With everything that's been going on, no one's really been officially tapped, but most of us have been assuming that we're still working with Santos, at least for now. It's nice to know that, if I'm assuming incorrectly, I won't be jobless as well as homeless. "Tell me what's been going on with you."

"Same boat as you, Donna. It's the White House. Everything is in the news, and you know what day-to-day life is like. It's crazy but not in a definable way."

"There has to be something interesting happening. I'm not looking for state secrets or anything. Juicy gossip will suffice. Even not-so-juicy gossip. Any unexpected pairings? Expected pairings?"

Her eyes light up and she drains her glass, pausing to refill it before answering me. She holds out the bottle and I shrug, letting her fill me, too. The remainder dribbles out and she puts it back on the floor with a thud. Our first dead soldier.

"We keep up this pace and we'll be hammered within an hour."

"Excellent!" she exclaims, taking another gulp. "Okay, this is almost completely speculation on my part, so take it with a grain of salt."

"Unfounded rumors are my favorite."

"Well, I think Will Bailey is seeing someone."

I groan with disappointment. "I already know that."

"You do? How?"

In that moment, I realize I only know because he thought I was coming on to him and told me he was involved with someone. But telling her that would lead to me telling her why I'd sounded like I was coming on to him, which would make me think about Josh, which is what I'm trying to avoid right now.

"We still talk once in a while," I finally answer. "He didn't say who he was seeing, but he implied he was involved with someone."

She smiles again, wider this time. "Ohh. See, that's the best part."

Well, now I'm intrigued. "Who is it?"

"Oh, _now_ you're interested."

"Ceee-Jaaaay!" I whine, drawling out her name, and I can tell the alcohol is already having an effect on me. "Tell me!"

"We're going to need another bottle soon," she says, looking smug. I could smack her. "Ouch! Hey! Remember how hospitable I'm being right now? What's with the hitting?" Lowered inhibitions apparently mean that I'll actually smack her. "Get the wine. Go."

Reluctantly, I stand up, feeling myself sway just a bit. We really have almost killed the entire bottle of wine in under ten minutes. It might be best to go a little slower with the next one, if nothing else to avoid the two of us being sick at the same time.

I make my way to the kitchen, grabbing a new bottle of wine, the corkscrew, and a couple of bottles of water to in the hopes of staving off hangovers. CJ smiles appreciatively when I reappear. "Ah, wine wench."

I roll my eyes and flop down again, passing the bottle to CJ so she can work her magic. "Whatever. Small price to pay so I don't have to sleep on the streets. Tell me who Will is seeing!"

She takes another sip of wine but puts the glass down on the coffee table after. "Like I said, it's just speculation. Based on a lot of observation, but still speculation."

"CJ, just spit it out."

"Kate Harper."

My mouth drops open for several seconds before I burst out laughing. "You're kidding me!"

She laughs in response, nodding enthusiastically. "I know!"

"Will? And Kate?"

"Weird, right?"

"So weird. That...that just makes no sense."

"Kind of gives you the creeps just thinking about it, doesn't it?"

I can't help but shudder a little, uncharitable as that is. "I have nothing against Will," I tell her, still laughing. "He's a nice guy and he's always been good to me, but he's kind of…goofy."

"And Kate very much isn't. Except when she and Will are trying to pretend there's nothing going on between them."

"I thought you said this was speculation."

"The dating part, yes, but they have weird vibes when they're in a room together. Stand them side by side and it's very entertaining. They don't know how to work together during the day without their nocturnal activities affecting them."

I shudder again, clamping my hands over my ears. "Eww! Don't put things like that out there. Now I have a mental image."

"Yeah, well, I've been stuck with that particular image for some time now. It's your turn."

I grab my glass of wine and take a large gulp, hoping the alcohol will help me forget. "You're a cruel woman, CJ."

"Part of my charm. Anyway, I don't know how long it's been going on but I've been noticing it more and more recently. Watching them flirt or whatever it is they're doing is the most awkward thing ever."

"Will and Kate," I say, mostly to myself. "Who knew?"

"I haven't tested this theory, but I imagine you could walk up to him, ask 'How's Kate?' and he'd drop something, even if he wasn't holding anything at the time."

I laugh a little, nodding in agreement. "I'll have to give that a shot."

She sighs and makes herself busy opening the new bottle of wine. She has something else on her mind—I've known her too long to miss the signs. I'm going to have to coax it out of her. "What else is going on?"

"Well," she pauses, putting the bottle into its little cooler and offering me a refill. I just shake my head. "Margaret had her baby, but that was months ago."

"Yeah, I heard. I haven't had a chance to met her yet. It was a girl, right?"

"Yep. Cute as can be, too. Looks just like her mother."

"Has she mentioned anything about the father?"

CJ hedges just a little. "Only to me. I'm sure she'd tell you about it if you asked, though. I don't think it's a big secret but—"

I hold up my hands, stopping her. "No worries. It's Margaret's business, and if it comes up, I'll ask her myself."

"She brings the baby in sometimes. Like I said, she's a cute little kid. Doesn't talk or anything but drools a lot."

"'Doesn't talk'," I repeat. "She's all of six months old—how dare she?"

"I know. You would think, though, with the amount of talking that goes on in the White House, she'd have picked up something by now."

"Maybe everyone should be grateful she _doesn't_ talk yet. I bet she's heard a few things that shouldn't be repeated."

"You're not wrong." She fiddles with the stem of her glass. I don't imagine it'll be tough to pull whatever it is out of her. She _wants_ to talk, she just doesn't want to bring it up.

"So, what's going on with you, CJ?"

"Me? Absolutely nothing. Not a thing."

"Have you checked your pants lately?" I ask, taking a slow sip of my wine.

"What? Why?"

"Because I think they're on fire."

She snorts, her hand covering her mouth as she chokes a little. "Are we in kindergarten?"

"What's going on, CJ? You've been a little jumpy since I asked to stay here."

"You know I don't mind having you here."

"Thanks, but that's not what I'm getting at and you know it. You've got something going on, and I'm pretty sure you want to tell me about it."

"Am I that easy to read?"

"To the trained eye. You wanna talk about it?"

She sighs, letting her head fall back on the couch. "Can I swear you to secrecy?"

"Of course."

"Not one of those casual secrets where it's understood you won't tell anyone but one specific person—an actual secret. Just you and me."

"CJ…who am I going to tell? You know you can trust me." I pause, looking at her thoughtfully. "You didn't commit a crime, did you?"

"I don't think so."

"No high treason?"

"Not even low treason."

"Well, then is it even a secret worth keeping?"

She chuckles. "Probably not. It's not nearly as juicy as I'm making it out to be, either. But, it's…personal."

"Your secret is safe with me."

She hesitates anyway and takes another deep sip of wine. "Well…"

"Out with it, CJ. Are you sick or something?"

"Sick in the head, maybe."

"That's nothing new."

"She who lives in glass houses, Donna."

"Fair point."

"I slept with Danny."

I actually do choke on my wine. I'd just been bringing my glass to my lips when she said it, and the wine nearly comes out of my nose. I start to sputter and cough uncontrollably. For her part, CJ doesn't laugh at me; she just takes my glass and swaps it for a bottle of water.

"Thanks," I manage to gasp, taking a couple of careful sips. When I have myself under control, I grab my wine again, gesturing to the bottle. "I feel like I might need a little fortification."

"You think?"

I take another sip of wine after it's been topped off, pausing to make sure it stays down. "So…"

"So…" she agrees.

"You and Danny, huh?"

"Is it really that big of a shock?"

"Well, sort of. You two have been circling each other for years and after all this time, you finally…" I trail off, not because I don't want to say it but because it sounds an awful lot like the situation I'm in. Glass houses again.

"It feels less like a conflict of interest now," she says defensively. "He's not covering the White House, I'm not Press Secretary, and we have two and a half months left in the administration. I think I stopped giving a damn."

I know the feeling.

"I'm not judging you. I just wasn't expecting you to say _that_ , I guess. But good for you! That's…that's awesome! It _was_ awesome, right? You didn't wait all that time for it to suck?"

"It didn't suck," she answers. "It was nice."

I snort, and then take another sip of wine. "'Nice.' What a ringing endorsement for Danny Concannon's sexual prowess."

"I assumed you didn't want all the details, but if you're interested, I can certainly tell you all about—"

"Nope! That's okay! I don't need specifics."

"It was better than nice, though. It was better than I expected."

"How so? And please don't make me regret asking that."

"I just thought that after putting it off for so long, it might be kind of a letdown. I was a little surprised that it wasn't."

This story is beginning to sound awfully familiar.

"We had fun. We've known each other for so long that we actually didn't have any of that awkwardness of the whole first time thing. We just enjoyed each other, you know?"

I can't help but grin at her. "That's great, CJ. Seriously. You deserve it."

"I do, don't I?"

We laugh and clink glasses, and I can objectively observe that we're both already quite tipsy. "So, how long has this been going on?"

She gets that weird look on her face again. "Just a couple of days."

"Was it just a one-time thing, or has there been a repeat performance?"

"Just the once, so far."

I sigh and stretch out my leg, nudging her with my foot. "CJ, what is it? What am I missing?"

"Nothing."

"I'm assuming that he didn't do anything weird after, right? Or else you probably would have led with that."

She shifts, looking away from me and focusing her attention on her wine glass, swirling the contents as she avoids answering me. I nudge her again but say nothing, knowing she's close to spitting it out. "We were sort of supposed to meet up again tonight."

"So, why didn't you…" The wine causes a slight delay in connecting the dots, but the light bulb over my head slowly lights up. "Ohhhh. Damn, CJ, why didn't you tell me?"

"I felt weird about it."

"Why? You could have told me that you had plans and I had to find somewhere else to stay. I asked you at the last minute. I wouldn't have been offended."

"Are you kidding? I couldn't blow you off for sex. I've been friends with you longer than I've been involved with Danny. Where would you have gone if I'd told you all this earlier?"

"I would have found somewhere to stay. I wouldn't insist on sleeping here when you'd be doing who knows what just across the hall from me."

"I was supposed to go to his place."

"Oh, hell, Ceej! Then why are you here right now? I don't need a babysitter."

"No, c'mon. We haven't done something like this in forever. I wanted to spend time with you."

"That's crap."

She actually looks offended. "It's not."

"Fine," I acquiesce. "I'm sure you do want to hang out with me, but not tonight you didn't. You should be at his place right now."

"Donna, I'm not going to ditch you now."

"I'm giving you permission, though."

"Danny'll be fine for a few more nights."

I sigh and shake my head, tilting back my glass of wine to finish it off. "Don't forgo sex on my account. It's a precious commodity in this line of work. Anything we have to catch up on can certainly wait until you've gotten laid again."

"I just felt so horrible. You needed a place to stay." She finishes her wine and plops the glass on the coffee table, grabbing the bottle to refill both of us. "I couldn't just tell you that you'd either have to wait for another night or that I was just going to up and abandon you. What else—"

"I had sex with Josh," I blurt out, clamping my hand over my mouth a second later. That's not at all what I planned to say.

CJ's eyes grow wide as her mouth drops open. I watch her hand go limp and surge forward, grabbing the bottle before it can drop. "Oh, my God," she whispers.

"I'm sorry! Oh, God, I wasn't going to say anything. I don't want to make this all about me. I want to hear about—"

"No, no," she says, putting her hand over mine. "Let's make it about you."

"No, no, no, no, no. I mean it. All I was going to say is that I would have found someone else to crash with—" She chuckles at that and I shake her hand off. "—if you didn't have room for me."

"So, you would have stayed with Josh instead?" she asks, her eyes still wide, though I can see the amusement in them.

" _No_. I would have asked…" I trail off because I'm not quite sure who else I would have turned to at that point. "I would have gotten a hotel room or something. Seriously, though. Let's talk more about you and Danny."

"Yeah, sure. Danny and I met a bunch of years ago, we flirted, nothing came of it, he wandered in and out of DC for a while and two nights ago we slept together. Tell me about you and Josh."

I put my face in my hand, rubbing my eyes. "CJ," I say weakly. "Seriously, I wasn't going to say anything."

"Then shame on you." I look up at her, startled. "You and Josh finally get together and you _weren't_ going to tell me?"

"We're not _together_ , we just…"

"Had sex. One of the most intimate acts two people can share. After all these years. And you weren't going to tell me."

"It's the wine," I mumble weakly, bringing my glass up to take another sip before I remember it's empty. "You know how it is. All I really wanted to say is that I would have found somewhere else—"

"Did Josh want you to stay with him?"

I feel my cheeks heat up and I grab my water bottle instead, taking a big gulp.

"He did, didn't he? He wants you to stay with him."

"He just wanted me for sex."

"I doubt he just wants you for sex."

I lift my eyebrows at her questioningly, but she just smiles. "He wanted me to come over tonight."

"Tell me what happened."

"Are you sure—"

"Oh, my God, _yes_!"

"CJ…"

"Seriously, the two of you are like…well, we've always been able to cut the sexual tension between the two of you with a knife."

"You have not."

She rolls her eyes at me so hard I can see the whites of her eyes. "If you say so. Regardless, I need details."

"You want to know—"

"Not those details," she answers quickly. "Just things that won't make me vomit."

"Nice."

She grins then jumps a little, grabbing the wine bottle and filling both glasses. "Definitely calls for more wine." She turns sideways, facing me, and tucks her legs up on the couch. "Go ahead."

"I think you're a little too into this," I tell her, suddenly desperate to deflect.

"No way. I've had to watch you two dance around each other for years. It's been like an over-drawn soap opera. I'm emotionally invested. So spill it."

I sigh and fiddle with my glass for a few moments. I do actually really want to talk about what's been happening with me and Josh, and she doesn't seem put off in the slightest about taking the attention from her and Danny. That's been the only real problem with the campaign this time around; I haven't gotten terribly close with anyone like during the Bartlet campaigns. Toward the end, as we were all together constantly, I definitely became friendly with Annabeth, and Mrs. Santos and I have developed an odd bond, but I never felt close with most of them the way I did during my first campaign experience. I've needed a friend, at least for something like this.

"Okay, well, remember a few weeks ago when I told you we'd had an odd moment?"

"OH MY GOD!" she yells, pitching toward me. "It happened then and you called it an ' _odd moment_ '?!"

"Do you want to hear what happened or not?"

"But…"

"No, it didn't happen then. But you know how we'd just found out that we were tied in the polls?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

She really is too excited for this. "When we found out, some of us ran around, banging on doors and waking everyone up, and I told Josh about. He was, you know, excited, and he grabbed my face and kissed me. It really was just one of those spontaneous, happy moment sort of things and it didn't _mean_ anything but…then it kind of did. A couple of seconds later we were actually kissing and…CJ, I hate to say it, because it sounds so stupid and cliché, but it was like nothing I've ever felt before. I'm not going to say the earth moved but was good. Really good. But then his room became a party and we wound up back in DC for the night and I tried to give him my room key and that didn't work out—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. Even without the wine, I wouldn't be able to keep up. You were kissing in his room?"

"Yeah. It was early, and like I said we were banging on doors. I just happened to go into his room to tell him. Then the Congress-uh-President-Elect burst in with everyone and they were all so excited and…"

"And the room key? How did that happen?"

"Well, I'm sure you can relate to this, but I was tired of waiting for the right moment. I mean, what's a 'right moment,' anyway? He'd kissed me—though he did try to apologize for it later—and I kind of felt like that was the sign I'd been waiting for, so at the hotel that night, I tried to give him my key."

"What do you mean tried?"

"I sort of…slid it across a table to him."

"And he didn't take it?"

"Well, I got up to leave after I made sure he saw what I was trying to do, and then Edie was running at me with it in her hand and I felt pretty awful. I don't think she had any idea what was going on, though. In the elevator, she told me that Josh had offered to bring it to me, but since she and I were on the same floor…"

CJ looks a little dumbfounded. "Did he go to your room anyway?"

I sigh, taking a sip of my almost-forgotten wine. "No. I was really embarrassed and pissed—he didn't even call me—but it did eventually occur to me just how bad Josh is at things like that and I shouldn't hold him to a higher standard just because I've wanted him for too long. I decided that it would be enough that he'd made the attempt with the key. It was probably too much for him to take in at once, honestly. We were only a few weeks out from the election and no one was getting any sleep and emotions were high and I let myself be okay with waiting a little longer."

"You're stronger than I am."

"Uh, didn't you and Danny wait almost as long to do the deed?"

"Maybe, but I never tried to get him to my hotel room only to be rejected."

"Okay, first of all, ouch. And second, while Danny I'm sure has many faults, we all know that if you, at any point, had snapped your fingers, he would have come running."

"I would have thought the same of Josh."

I don't know how to explain it to CJ, but that's not how Josh operates. He has too many fears and insecurities, and he's told me before that he's never been able to figure out how to interact with women on that level. Truthfully, I find it kind of charming. It's sweet that a guy his age with his education and opportunities has no idea how to let a woman know he's interested. I don't really mind being the aggressor in this case. At some point, it'd be great for him to take the lead with all this, if there is a "this" to be had, but he's been receptive to me and my propositions so far.

"At any rate, we all got caught up in the final weeks, and it was weird for a few days, but we managed to get past it, though we weren't really alone a whole lot after that. I'm not sure if that was by design or by accident."

"So when did it happen?"

"The night before Election Day. I guess we finally ran out of excuses. Then it happened again in the middle of Election Day, and then—"

She holds up her hand, shaking her head. "More details than I need. Wait…" She tilts her head almost comically at me as she thinks. "Wait, wait, wait. _On_ Election Day?"

"Yes."

"You got Josh Lyman to put aside his polling data and electoral maps _in the middle of Election Day_ to go have sex?"

"It wasn't that tough, CJ. We'd only had sex for the first time a few hours before; the memory was still fresh."

"But we both know how tunnel-visioned he can get. He left all that stuff he essentially lives for to be with you."

I don't suppose I thought of it that way. "He needed to de-stress. I offered to help."

"I'll just bet you did," she answers with a chuckle. "I might regret asking this, but how was it?"

I feel my cheeks hurt from grinning before I even notice that I'm smiling. "It was, you know…it was all right."

She reaches over and smacks my arm, almost knocking over my wine glass. "Come on, now."

I wouldn't have thought I could smile any harder, but it seems I was mistaken. "It was the best sex I've ever had."

"Really?" she asks, leaning in.

"I thought it'd be good, you know? I wasn't prepared for the whole shaking-leg, tingling-from-head-to-toe, never-want-to-get-out-of-bed sensation."

"He made your legs shake?"

"He made _everything_ shake. It was…he was…he was attentive. He paid attention to my body and how it reacted and did what he could to accommodate it. And, he was sweet, he kept making sure I was having a good time, and he definitely made sure I—"

She clamps her hands over her ears, no easy feat considering she's still holding her glass. "Okay, we've moved into the area of too much detail. If you start talking measurements, I'll have no choice but to kick you out."

I actually laugh at that, putting my partially full glass on the coffee table. I grab a throw pillow and hug it to my chest. "Anyway, that's how it happened. Not exactly a fairytale, but I have no complaints."

"And why, exactly, aren't you with him right now?"

"Because I'd already asked to stay with you. I wasn't going to make up some excuse to go have sex, especially because I don't know exactly how many nights were included in his invitation."

"You didn't have to make up an excuse, you know. You could have just told me."

"The same way you told me about your plans for tonight with Danny?"

"Touché." She stares at me for a minute, and I almost think she's fallen asleep with her eyes open when she reaches behind her and grabs the phone.

"What are you doing?" I exclaim, almost throwing myself at her. "You're not calling Josh, are you?"

Her free hand extends toward me, effectively stopping me from getting any closer. "Of course not. Calm down."

"Yeah, right." I try to reach her anyway, but my slightly tipsy state won't let me. I do, however, feel myself relax when she rattles off her address into the phone. I settle back against the cushions, watching her warily.

"Yes, please," she says into the phone. "How long?" I relax even further. She must be ordering food. No doubt she has standing orders at more than one restaurant around here. "Thanks!" She presses a button on the phone and tosses it onto the coffee table, shrugging when it bounces off. "Okay, your cab will be here in five to ten minutes."

I blink at her a few times. "My what?"

"Your cab. You're going over to Josh's."

I feel my eyes grow wide. "CJ!"

"Donna, you've waited years to be with him. It's stupid for you to be here getting drunk when you could be with him, getting laid."

"But—"

"You might want to change out of your jammies," she says, ignoring me completely. "Not that you'll be wearing anything for long, I expect."

"Oh, God!" I exclaim, my face inexplicably heating up.

"Go have a lot of sex, Donna. God knows you deserve it. If he wants you to stay with him for a while, let me know so you can get your stuff. If not, you're welcome back here at any time. Just make sure you call first."

"Why would I…oh." Danny. She's not planning on being alone tonight one way or another. "You going over there, or…"

"I'm calling him," she answers, stretching for the phone. "We'll play it by ear." She gives me a look as she dials. "I'm not kidding. Go have fun."

I hesitate for a few more seconds before I pull myself off the couch and make my way to the guestroom. I pull out my jeans and a sweater, and dig around in my suitcase for something resembling cute underwear and redress as quickly as I can. I nearly kill myself in my haste to pull off my pajamas. I run into the bathroom and brush my teeth for good measure. I should probably call Josh to see if he's even home, but…I do have a key. If he's not there, I can just wait for him in bed. I don't think he'd oppose to that.

I finish brushing my teeth and run my fingers through my hair. I feel my heart flutter, my stomach following soon after. I can't believe I'm actually doing this.

"Hey, Moss, hustle those buns. The cab just pulled up outside and Danny's on his way over to pick me up." When I make my way back out to the living room, CJ's standing there with my coat, my bag draped over her arm. She may be more eager for sex than I am. She hands me a key as I shrug into my jacket. "So you can come and go as you please. Like I said, just give me a heads up if you're coming back here." She leans in and kisses my cheek before turning me around and shoving me through the front door. "Seriously. Go have fun. We'll compare stories later."

With that, the door closes behind me. I smile awkwardly at the secret service agent in the hallway before I take a deep breath and head outside. The cab driver looks bored as I give him Josh's address, all but rolling his eyes when he realizes we're just a few blocks away.

For my part, my leg bounces nervously as I sit in the back seat, trying to busy myself with putting CJ's key on the ring with the rest of them. With it being late and traffic light, it only takes a few minutes to get to Josh's place, not nearly long enough for my nerves to settle. The driver doesn't say anything as I pay him, and it doesn't occur to me wonder or care much why he's being so rude.

As I step out of the taxi, I'm relieved to see a few lights on in Josh's apartment. I don't let myself think as I use my key to open the front door, then make my way upstairs. Before I can talk myself out of it, I open his door, shutting it quietly behind me.

"Josh?" I call out, holding my breath. A moment later, I hear bare feet hit hardwood, footsteps making their way toward me.

"Donna?" He appears before me, disheveled, in pajama pants and a t-shirt, and I grin. My bag lands on the floor with a thud. My insides turn warm at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

I shrug the coat off my shoulders, tossing it over the back of the couch. "Turns out your offer was too good to refuse."

His cheeks twitch, a smile spreading slowly across his face. One of his hands reaches out to me and I can't help but jump a little at the jolt I get when my skin meets his. Our fingers slide together and he gives me a little tug. I step into him, hesitating for just a moment before my free hand reaches up to the back of his neck, pulling him toward me. Our lips meet, another jolt coursing through me. I definitely haven't had time to get used to what it feels like to kiss him; it makes my knees completely weak. We break apart, his forehead pressing against mine for a few moments, our breath mingling in the small space between us.

He straightens up, cocking his head down hall, his eyebrow lifted in question. I tilt my head and smile at him, hopefully conveying my answer.

He gives my hand another tug, pulling me gently toward his bedroom.

* * *

As promised, the companion to Dum Spiramus. If you don't check out the "mature" fics on Fanfiction dot net, you probably missed it. I'd say it's a shame because it has some fun moments in it, but I get that some people don't read that stuff. You do you. Anyhoo, this one is basically a prequel, but I wanted to post it separately so that it could be found and read by those not of the smut-reading variety.

I do need to say that I don't like the hate that CJ gets in a lot of stories. As someone who's read a crap-ton of TWW fic in the last six or seven months, CJ gets poo-ed on an awful lot because of "No Exit." I mean, like, friends say things like that to each other. Good friends tell each other the hard truths. They don't want their friends doing something that's hurting them. Sometimes they fight. They get over it. So I don't think CJ's some sort of villain for telling her friend that she shouldn't be holding herself back for Josh. Just because Donna was pissed doesn't mean they remained so—I think that's evidenced by the remainder of the series. Anyway, that's just my little rant.


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